TheLostSigns(TLS): First off i'd like to thank you for agreeing to be interviewed for The Lost Signs blog, Autumn. Is there anything you haven't gotten to say or would like to say to readers of your work?
Autumn(ARW): Thank you! For interviewing me. I am so excited to be doing this with you! To the readers of my work, I want to thank them for being so patient with me (it's been a long while since I have updated my current story) and let them know that they won't have to wait much longer for the next installment.
TLS: Speaking of you current story, you make a point of mentioning that the main character's(MC's) mother is a traditionalist. What role do you feel tradition plays in your writing?
ARW: Tradition is the key issue for all of my characters in my writing, and especially in "The Identical Rule" The MC's Mother is trying to uphold traditions that have been set for at least the last 100 generations of Rulers. The MC's themselves will be forced to decide whether or not they agree with the current traditions and what that means for them, and their entire universe, in the long run. I think I focus on tradition so much in my stories because it's something I really didn't have growing up, and the very few traditions I did have were exceptionally hard to hold on to. I feel like that comes out in Lady Wynn (my MC's mother). She is a magnification of my desire for some solid traditions. So it plays a huge roll in my writing.
TLS: Speaking of Rulers, in the initial chapter of "The Identical Rule" you reveal that there are number of brother-Kings and their wives the queens. Can you speak a little on why this system exists in the story, the purpose it serves, or how it's been implemented in your stories universe?
ARW: It's a tad bit complicated, but essentially within the area of the Universe that this story takes place it has become much more common for people to give birth to Multiple-sets of children instead of one Single child at a time. Scientists there believe that it is because the Ancients used so much artificial medication to boost fertility that it eventually became the norm for a woman's body to produce multiple offspring. Before the transition, The Galaxy-System (GS) was Ruled by one King and his Queen, but for a few generations the King (or Queen) would always have a set of identical multiples born (this trend continues to be the norm). There were generally a set quadruplets born in line to the throne, and it became increasingly harder to choose the son or daughter that would succeed the throne because they were all essentially the same age, give or take a few minutes. One generation the King died suddenly and his sons had not agreed with what order their father had put them in line for the throne and a giant civil war broke out amongst the four sons. Long story short, eventually all of the sons died but one, and during his reign he and his Queen had 6 children, an elder quadruple set of boys, and twin daughters. He decided that since the family line always had a quadruple pair born each generation, that should they be the first in line to rule the throne, they must rule together. Eventually it became a tradition that ONLY a quadruple set rule, and there are a whole bunch of other complicated things going on within the tradition in present day Ua'flor, and those will be explained in the book. A more mundane reason for this GS's tradition is that I am fascinated by identical children. I came up with the four sisters that this story is about when I was younger, and expanded on them as I have gotten older and more experienced about the need for explanations for things. I really hope that answers that question fully. ^_^
*A picture of an Ua'flor system courtesy of AnAutumRose's Deviantart Profile.*
TLS: Can you explain why as an author it felt necessary for you to create a Galaxy-System within the universe of your story, and what exactly a Galaxy-System is?
ARW: Well, I created the term Galaxy-System to describe the many planets and Solar Systems that comprise Ua'flor because there just wasn't any other name out there for it. There are four main planets in the Solar System that the MC's live in, and some odd planets that aren't habitable. There are 4 or 5 Solar Systems within the Galaxy that they live in, and there are 2-3 Galaxy's within the entire System. (For my story's purpose, a Galaxy is a territorially defined set of Solar Systems. Ua'flor is Ruled by the Maji family, and it has been for thousands of years. There are a few more Galaxy Systems in existence, but they will only be briefly spoken about in the book.
I felt it necessary to create a Galaxy-System because I wanted to make sure that the idea's for this universe that I came up with when I was a 5th grader just dreaming things up could be in the story and make viable sense.. At least to me. :D
TLS: Your MC's appear to be telepathic, and you explain a bit about why that is shortly after introducing the characters. I've spoken before on my feeling about telepathy, and was wondering if you'd care to explain the limitations, beyond being limited to between sets of siblings?
ARW: My MC's are definitely telepathic, but they can't read anyone's mind. I would describe their telepathy as "purely projective telepathy," or "projective-receptive telepathy" and I would do this because Sibling sets can only hear the thoughts that their siblings send to them. They are purposefully talking to each other by using the ability. I haven't created any characters that have been able to forcefully read someones mind. Even the odd character that I've created that can project into anyone's mind cannot read anyone's mind unless there is particular spell cast, and then there is a lot of red-tape, so to speak, to go through for those particular characters in order to do so. I felt the need to include telepathy because, well, I like it, and because of the situation I put the four newest royals into. I mentioned in the the story that identical's can speak the clearest to each other, but that even mixed sets can speak to one another, and that is very important to the story line.
*Artwork by AnAutumnRose entitled Earth Ankh.*
ARW: Yes, it was raining really, really hard... and it's exactly the kind of rain that we would experience here on Earth, just more all encompassing. The planet that the story is taking place in right now is mostly comprised of rain forests, and they get a lot of rain, but that day it was like a blanket on them. I would say that the individual climates and environments are essentially the same, just on a larger scale. In Mandhari, the Solar System that the Capital Planet is, there are four livable planets and their compositions are vastly different. Riana (the working name for my capital planet) is the one comprised of rain forests, Aigua is mostly oceans and seas, Mwali has a vast range of very high altitude mountains (The tectonic plates there are thicker and created more mountain ranges), and there is another un-named planet with volcanoes and swamps, and it's closer to the systems dual-suns. So I guess it's dependent on where the planet is, but everything is just an ecosystem that we could find here on Earth magnified to a global scale.
*Artwork by AnAutumnRose entitled Water Ankh V.2*
TLS: That's one of the things i greatly enjoy about your work. It's well thought out, and even if you find that changes are necessary they don't negate the whole that you've been building. I'd like to ask as a follow up and paired question to the last one: What kind of fauna can we expect in your story given the similar yet dissimilar environments when compared to Earths?
ARW: I'm so excited that you like it. Ooh, Even I'm not sure what exactly lurks everywhere on these planets... I'm excited to find out as I continue to write and build the universe and all its extremely diverse settings. There are definitely animals that look and seem like the ones we have here on Earth. For instance, in the next installment, which I will be posting soon, there are farms with what could be goats, and pets that are descendants of cats. There will be sentient creatures as well that even take part in the government, seeing as how they live where the Maji's rule... Basically, in the same fashion that the ecosystems on Earth are scaled up, you'll find creatures from Earth on a larger scale, and things that have evolved because of the immense planetary environments. For instance, since Aigua is covered with vast oceans and seas, the sea creatures have evolved to outnumber the people that have colonized there, and Riana is sure to have its fair share of giant insects. I am working on a private work book comprised of all the flora and fauna that will be found within the different planet systems... Like I said, I'm excited about them, creatures are so interesting to me.
TLS: Now, since your setting spans numerous worlds, i'd like to ask about technology within the Galaxy-Systems. The initial chapters give the impression of a sort of low technological environment similar to feudal earths, but during our interview you've mentioned fertility enhancement, which i'd think would necessitate a higher scale of technology then is immediately discernible. Can you share how technology plays a part in your universe?
ARW: Yes... well, Traditions play a part with what you've seen so far. . . The castle that they're in is extremely "high tech," but tradition mandates that the birth of the Royal Children be done in castle with a midwife and her assistants present. Lady Wynn is extremely interested in Tradition, and although there are what we would call modern hospitals on Riana, there was no way that she would give birth to the first set of children in line to the throne in a non-traditional way. There are planets within the Galaxy System that are technological to the extreme, with city-scapes that reflect what you can see on the Republics Capital planet, Coruscant in Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace. There are teleportation devices, but those have to be used with Magick, and space travel... which I haven't sorted out all the kinks, but I am working on the exact science behind all of it.
*Artwork by AnAutumnRose entitled Fire Ankh.*
ARW: Of course I do! and I couldn't exclude Magick, it's one of my most favorite things to read about. Magick is something that is pretty normal within the Universe at the time the story takes place, although, of course, there are planets/groups of peoples that are opposed to it's use. I'm sure that somewhere in the Royal Library there is a history book with some War fought on the subject.... But getting back to what we were talking about. There is natural Magick, such as the pyrokinesis that you mentioned, and other nature specific abilities. The spell for Teleportation is a form of ritual Magick, but it definitely helps if the person casting that spell has natural Magick abilities. Telepathic ability is also helpful with Teleportation, because communicating between the planets isn't always the easiest. Twins (who generally have the strongest telepathic abilities) are sought out to work at opposite teleport stations because they can speak with each other the clearest and for longer distances.
TLS: Also a sensitive subject when it comes to different culture is that of religion, which often walks hand in hand with tradition. Can you describe how religion is handled in your Galaxy-System, and what form it takes?
ARW: My Galaxy-System is poly-theistic. The general belief is that there is one greater higher power that manifests itself in a way that will best fit the people that it's serving... which is why the Maji family has been able to rule with so little religious discord for so many generations. There is a planet or two that believes that their Deity is the One True Deity and have tried to make a muck about it... and the Royals have had to be crafty in handling those people in rough times... The most trouble comes from outer Galaxy-Systems that believe in different Gods and Goddesses.. But all-in-all, since their religious beliefs are pretty much all-encompassing... it doesn't cause too many problems for the MC's. Which is all to the better for me, since religion can be really tricky.
I nearly forgot to add that there are no sentient beings that worship other sentient beings. I don't think I'm comfortable with that. So it's more ethereal.
*Artwork by AnAutumnRose entitled Air Ankh.*
TLS: It's sadly time for last question. Having been a good friend of TheLostSigns for quite a few years, the fact that your bi-lingual is well known. How do you feel that affects not only your views on language within your universe, but also the ability to work with language, as all authors do, when creating your story?
ARW: Language has always fascinated me, which is why I have worked towards being multi-lingual and am bi-lingual now. I think that it has made me more aware of the importance of language within a culture, and it has made me want to incorporate more languages in my story. There are different languages in each solar system, and vastly different dialects on each planet within those, and there is a language that is used to communicate in political settings (that language is closely related to our English). I think that having the ability to speak in more than one language has made it easier for me to work with words in my own language, because I understood more of English and all of its intricacies after I took classes in other languages and Linguistics.
TLS: Sorry that took so long, and thank you so much once more for stopping by and doing an interview with me. As always TheLostSigns is hopeful your fans out there will enjoy hearing these questions answered and other interviewers or reviewers will have a bit more information to add to their write ups. Would you like to say anything else to the readers?
ARW: No problem, I have really enjoyed this. I am also hoping that they like it, as this is the first time any of the information has been posted about the way Ua'flor functions as a story-book universe. I want to let the readers know that I am so grateful for them reading my work and that I look forward to continuing the story on FictionPress and hearing what they think about it. Thanks so much for having me on your blog! I hope that this won't be the only time that I'm here. :)
TLS: Until next time, ya'll!! (^_^)
AnAutumRose can be found at her Fiction Press and Deviantart profiles.
CHECK IT OUT!!
....
As always, TheLostSigns encourages you to support you favorite artists if you can.
No comments:
Post a Comment